Five questions with ... Anaheim Sporn

With Anaheim being the second largest city in Orange County, it'd be easy for some communities' concerns to slip through the cracks.

The city tries to make sure that doesn't happen by splitting it up into four geographic districts, each with its own neighborhood council that meets once a quarter. Anaheim Hills falls in the east district, which encompasses the area to the east of Rio Vista Street to the city limit. The council meetings serve as a place residents can get community updates, address any issues they are concerned about and have a point of contact with city staff.

Anaheim Sporn, community services superintendent, further explained what they do and what the east district is all about.

Q. For those who don't know, what are the neighborhood councils?

A. They're a reference point for creating meeting opportunities. They're part of our neighborhood improvement program. They work with residents, businesses, faith-based organizations. What we call stakeholders, people who want to get involved. They tend to be looked at as a liaison between the community and the city.

Q. Are there any particular issues that the east district, particularly Anaheim Hills, tends to address?

A. The last meeting is a great example. Each district is unique. Some stuff is the same. There's always police and code updates. This last meeting we talked about the new garage ordinance. The police focus on specific areas. Topics can range from anything depending on the quarter.

The 91 freeway expansion is really unique to the east district. Flood zones. The fire department will come and talk about "Ready, Set, Go." They've come and showcased new fire vehicles specific to the east district to fight fire and brush fire.

The east district is widest of our districts. There are some areas where there are projects, like Anaheim Coves, a new community center and park in one of neighborhoods. We give updates on those projects, like the park staff has been looking for and competing for grants for park trails. That's always been great topic.

Q. If community members see an issue, how can the community get involved to fix it?

A. There's various ways they can do that. They can contact neighborhood services. We also have 311, Anaheim Anytime. We all work together pretty closely. Any time we have the opportunity to connect with the community, we do. We promote talking to staff at meetings or having your own neighborhood or community meeting. Or they can contact the chair and vice chair of their district council.

Q. Are there any issues the community has brought up at the district council meetings that were solved?

A. The biggest one recently is the 91 freeway. People were saying that they didn't know how to get in contact with OCTA or Caltrans or find information for specific streets or neighborhoods facing the freeway. So now it's a regular agenda item at meetings.

We always write down notes if we hear someone saying, "What about this?" Like the police helicopter. People were asking, "Why does the helicopter go up? What's it patrolling?" So at the past meeting, a helicopter sergeant came out to take notes and take ideas from community. People were complaining about rabbits and coyotes, so we fostered a relationship with OC Animal Care.

Q. What are some things east district members can look forward to in the next council meeting?

A. We'll probably start talking about "Ready, Set, Go." That's a fire preparedness program specific to the east district about how to get your property ready, emergency evacuations, what to do when we get high Santa Ana winds.

We'll probably do an update on the community garden out there at Fire Station 10. There was a vacant parcel next to the fire station, so residents planted this garden. We'll probably ask for an update from the residents so people can get excited and hear what's going on. There'll probably be more updates on the 91. Anything city wide that's going on, we'll bring that.

What's in name

If you were confused by a woman named Anaheim working for the city of Anaheim, you wouldn't be the first.

"I surely confuse people at first but definitely am easy to track down," Anaheim Sporn said.

Sporn was born and raised in Anaheim and was named after the city that her parents fell in love with after they moved from Texas. In her own words, Sporn explains the origin of her name:

"My parents, Paul and Dolores Zambrano, moved to Anaheim in the mid 1970s. As they made their roots in the city, Anaheim made a huge impact on my father's life. Coming from Texas, he was worrisome about starting a life in a new place and finding a job, but in no time at all, everything fell into place. He began working with the Anaheim Convention Center and Taylor Dunn, and shortly after, he and my mother bought their first home. Life was perfect, so much so that I'm sure he wanted to pay homage to this city in some way. Keeping in mind that my father is a very unique man with an extremely charismatic personality, he surely saw an opportunity when I was born in 1976. He and my mother didn't immediately have a name for me, so after being asked over and over again by the doctor for a name he thought, "Why not? What better name could I give my daughter?" It was not only the year of the nation's bicentennial, but the year his first child was born. For him, it couldn't get much better than that."